All-time record heat fuels California wildfires as thousands forced to evacuate
Wildfires ignited and rapidly grew in Southern California to close out the past week as some locations endured their highest temperatures in recorded history.
The latest destructive fire is the Holiday Fire which broke out in a building in the city of Goleta, northwest of Los Angeles, on Friday night.
Several thousand residents were forced to evacuate as the fire rapidly grew.
Some of the evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A total of 20 structures have reportedly been burned.
Fire crews battle the Holiday Fire in Santa Barbara County on Friday night. (Twitter photo/@EliasonMike)
Crews made significant progress on the fire at the start of the weekend, with containment now up to 80 percent.
The Director of County Emergency Services issued a local emergency proclamation early Saturday morning in response to the fire. Later on Saturday, California's Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County.
The fire was fanned by extremely dry ground and windy conditions, with gusts up to 24 mph reported at a weather observation station at nearby Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. Firefighters have only contained five percent of the blaze.
Visibility dropped down to two and a half miles at the airport on Friday night due to smoke.
Several other wildfires are burning in Southern California, a few of which ignited on Friday as well.
On Friday, officials reported the state's first death this year due to wildfires when they discovered the remains of a person in a home burnt by the Klamathon Fire in Northern California, according to Reuters.
This blaze near the Oregon-California border has charred over 30,000 acres and is only 20 percent contained. A total of 72 structures have been destroyed.
Over two dozen large wildfires are burning elsewhere across the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Day for the record books
In addition to gusty winds and dry vegetation, the California blazes fed off of extreme and in some cases, all-time record heat to close out the week.
On Friday, Burbank and Van Nuys set new daily records and recorded their highest temperatures for any date, with respective highs of 114 and 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ramona and Santa Ana are among the other cities that set new all-time record highs.
A construction worker rehydrates on site during a blistering day of heat in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, July 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Downtown Los Angeles blazed past their daily record of 94 originally set in 1992 as the mercury soared to 108 to close out the week.
Dozens of other record highs were set across the region, including in San Diego where the high of 96 broke the previous daily record by 13 degrees.
Following another day with records in jeopardy on Saturday, the large dome of high pressure that has set off the extreme heat will shift eastward early this week, with the core of the heat focusing on the Central states.
Increased clouds from the monsoonal moisture returning to the Four Corners states will also help to quell the intense heat in Southern California.
While a few thunderstorms may reach southeastern California, the storms may cause more harm than good by providing little to no rainfall, kicking up gusty winds and generating lightning strikes that can ignite new blazes.
Despite the return to more seasonable temperatures this week, residents and visitors will want to use extreme caution with matches, cigarettes, campfires, barbecues and outdoor power equipment as long as drought conditions remain.
